Lot 8140. A Manchu nobleman's chestnut ground brocade-woven court robe, jifu, Qianlong-Jiajing period (1736-1820). Estimate US$ 10,000 - 15,000 (€9,000 - 14,000). Photo Bonhams.
Woven in fine gilt-wrapped threads with four front-facing dragons at top front, shoulders and back while four side-facing dragons appear below, all chasing flaming pearls amid clouds and bats flying above the lishui border, the subsidiary motifs woven in white, shades of blue, green and orange, the existing neck bands, sleeves and cuffs added at a later date. 53in (134.6cm) long
Property from a Southern California Museum
Note: The brown background of the robe, known atqiuxiangse (tawny incense), was reserved for princes and other members of the imperial clan: see, for example, John Vollmer, Ruling from the Dragon Throne,2002, pp. 83-84 and fig. 4.3, an embroidered example from the Daoguang period
Bonhams. CHINESE, INDIAN, HIMALAYAN AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART AND PAINTINGS, 12:00 PDT, SAN FRANCISCO